Misplaced Nuptials
by Lariren-Shadow
Summary: Zuko sat on the edge of the bed and crossed his arms. "Apparently when you said 'oh Zuko just drink from the silly cup' and I did and you did that meant we got married according to Foggy Swamp traditions." Zutara
1. Chapter 1

**A/N**: I don't even know where this came from but it was fun to write.

**Disclaimer**: I don't own

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"Katara, wake up," She knew that voice. She hadn't heard it that annoyed in a while though. "Katara get up now!" And suddenly the blankets were gone and all she had to curl up under was the bedsheet.

"No," she told Zuko firmly.

"But, _sweetheart_, don't you want to enjoy our wedding gift together."

Katara shot up right. "What?!" She blinked a few times as her eyes adjusted to the bright light flooding the dingy room. It wasn't the worse place she'd been, but it had obviously seen better days.

Zuko sat on the edge of the bed and crossed his arms. "Apparently when you said 'oh Zuko just drink from the silly cup' and I did and you did that meant we got married according to Foggy Swamp traditions."

Katara crossed her arms and glared at him. "I didn't know that. I wouldn't have made you do that if I had known. I'm sure this thing has happened before and it's not that big of a deal."

Zuko stood and started muttering to himself about 'stupid waterbenders' and pacing. "Not a big deal. Right, of course this isn't a big deal _for you._ It is for me and we need this fixed now."

Katara huffed. "Why is it worse for you than it is for me?"

"I don't know, maybe because my marriage to anyone would be of international importance, Fire Lady Katara," he sneered.

She opened and closed her mouth a few times at his words. "First of all any wedding I have would be of international importance too. Secondly you don't have to sound so annoyed about this. We just need to get unmarried and hope no one else knows about it."

He stopped pacing. "Well I know how that's done in the Fire Nation-"

"Please tell me it doesn't involve something dangerous like an Agni Kai."

"No, it's just a simple piece of paper we both sign. Can you even get 'unmarried'" Zuko made little quotes in the air as he said the word, "in the Water Tribe?"

Katara looked at the floor. "You can it's just...not done. You have to prove the marriage wasn't consummated."

"Easy, nothing happened last night."

"And I have to prove that you wouldn't be able to provide for me any any children we could have."

Zuko let out a little puff of fire. "You know I'd be able to provide for you," he said grumpily.

"I know this, you know this, deep down I'm sure Sokka would even vouch for you on this but you're going to have to fail at hunting."

"Is it anything like fishing?" He asked hopefully.

"Uh, kind of? Why?"

He smirked. "I'm terrible at that. The one time Uncle sent me fishing I caught one little fish."

She smiled. "Well that's good and maybe we won't even have to deal with that. Maybe we can just undo this in the Foggy Swamp style and hope that news hasn't traveled. Now go wait in the hall while I get dressed."

"Katara, you slept in your clothes." She flushed. "And we have this wonderful fruit basket."

She scowled at him. "I want tea."

"Fine."

She got up out of bed and checked her hair. She quickly undid her half bun, running her fingers through her hair, before pulling her hair back into the style. A quick tug on her clothes and she was ready to go down to the main hall of the inn they were staying in.

"I can't believe this was the best place we could stay," Zuko complained as they made their way downstairs.

"You mean you didn't plan for us to get caught in that storm and have to stop at the sleazy tavern that we met June in? Zuko, I'm shocked."

"I wasn't the one who insisted that all of us needed to take the Foggy Swamp guys back from the South Pole."

"Well it was on the way back to the Fire Nation and Kyoshi Island," Katara insisted. "Hopefully we can get down there and find Huu or Due or Tho before anyone else is awake or-"

"Well there are the two lovebirds," June called as they entered the main hall. "I know you two were dating and now you're married."

Zuko stomped over to her and leaned over the sitting woman. "You will keep quiet about this and tell no one," he said in his best Fire Lord voice.

"No can do, announcements were sent out last night," she said with a smirk.

"What do you mean they went out last night?" Katara asked as she stalked over to June, hands on her hips.

"Oh the locals all know what you two did. I thought it was hilarious that you'd elope to here of all places but hey, I just find people, not try to understand them."

"I'll give you 100 gold pieces if you go and get every single announcement that was sent out," Zuko said through clenched teeth.

"No can do Prince Pouty. I told you," she took a sip of her tea, "I find people not things. However I will take that money to go find your waterbending friends."

"They left?" Katara asked.

June shrugged. "Apparently a little downpour doesn't bother them. Took off after you two went to bed, though why you were sharing a room if you aren't together…"

Katara felt her face go red and noticed Zuko's matched the color of his shirt. "There were two rooms left and Sokka was complaining about not spending time with Suki so we just let him have the other one."

"And the Avatar and the blind girl?"

"Sleeping with Appa, Toph made an earth tent to keep the rain out," Zuko supplied. "Are they here?"

"Not yet, but I'm going to wait until everyone is here. I'm sure this will be good," she said as she placed her feet on the table. "Oh look, here comes your brother."

Sokka was practically jumping down the stairs. He did skip the last three and landed with a thump, his arms out to steady himself. He marched over to Zuko and grabbed the slightly taller man by the shirt. "You married my sister last night!" Katara watched Zuko swallow hard and saw beads of sweat form on his brow.

"This is going to be a long day," she sighed as she rubbed her forehead.

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**Reviews are awesome.**


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N:** I still don't know what this is other than fun.

**Disclaimer**: I don't own.

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"I didn't mean to marry your sister," Zuko said angrily as Sokka pulled him closer. Katara thought that they were much closer than she and Zuko had been since their apparent nuptials but she shrugged it off (not to mention she was a little miffed at Zuko's tone).

"Are you saying you're too good for Katara?!" Sokka accused.

"I'd choose my next words carefully if I were you," June warned as she continued to sip her tea.

"Why should Zuko choose his words carefully? He's kind of bad at that," Aang said as he flew into the room on a puff of air.

Katara watched Zuko swallow hard again and opened her mouth to gently and tactfully tell Aang what happened but June beat her to it. "Pouty and his girlfriend got married last night."

"But Zuko doesn't have a girlfriend," Aang insisted.

"She means Katara," Toph clarified as she joined the rest of the group. "Pour me a cup," she told June. June smirked at the younger woman and dutifully poured her a cup. She held her own up to Toph who saluted her as well.

"Why would Katara marry Zuko? They only went on one date and-"

Katara cut Aang off with "we all promised never to speak of that again! Sokka, let go of Zuko. You can't kill him."

"Why?" Sokka whined.

"First of all he's your brother-in-law until we undo this and family is important," Katara began.

"Second Azula is my heir right now and even though she'd doing better I don't want her to be Fire Lord," Zuko said as he stood and straightened out his clothes. "Third because if you kill me then Katara will be a widow-"

"You're not helping," Katara said as she glared at Zuko.

"I'm still not the one who got us into this mess."

"I was trying to be nice and appreciate other people's customs. Oh but what would you know about that? All you know is how to take over other!"

"I've been the first Fire Lord in one hundred years to _reduce _the size of the Fire Nation! And if I didn't appreciate other cultures I wouldn't have participated in the celebration for bringing in the first whale of the season!"

Katara made a loud frustrated noise and kept sputtering "you" at Zuko. Toph grinned and June turned to look at the blind girl. "Twenty gold pieces says they end up killing each other," June offered.

Toph firmly planted her feet on the ground. "Fifty says they end up never dissolving the marriage," Toph countered.

"You're on."

"Maybe we should break them up now," Aang said as he watched the two fight.

"On it Twinkletoes."

"But I wanted Katara to freeze him in a block of ice," Sokka moaned.

"There, there, I'm sure Katara will do that soon," Suki said in a soothing tone. "Also thank you for letting go of Zuko so I wouldn't have had to rescue him from you."

Sokka's eyes went wide with hurt. "You'd betray me like that?"

Suki sighed and sat down the bench next to Toph. "I don't want to but Zuko never technically relieved the Kyoshi Warriors from being his guard so therefore I'm honor bound to protect him."

"Fine. Hey Katara stop yelling so we can come up with a plan!" Toph emphasized Sokka's words by encasing both Katara and Zuko in earth up to their shoulders. "Thank you Toph. Now we need to come up with a plan to make sure as few people as-"

"June already sent out notifications last night," Zuko said miserably.

"Ok new plan: damage control. Maybe June can get some of the letters back-"

"I find people not things," June interjected.

"I'll give you my uncle's weight in gold if you find these," Zuko said.

June thought a moment. "Not enough."

"Then I won't have you arrested for slander and treason," Zuko countered.

"Sorry, Fire Lord, but I renounced my citizenship years ago."

Aang looked between the two. "How did you even know she was Fire Nation?"

"I guessed." Everyone stared at Zuko. "What? It was a very good guess! She came on my ship without batting an eyelash and this is a border area between the Fire Nation colonies and the Earth Kingdom. Stop looking so surprised and let's come up with a plan."

Aang was the first to recover. "Zuko's right. Toph let them go so we can all sit down and talk." Toph stomped her foot and the earth columns crumbled. "Ok so no getting the letters back and you two want to get unmarried."

"We need the swampbenders," Katara said as she brushed dirt from her clothes. "And we need to warn both the Fire Nation and Dad about our impending break up and start the process of ending this thing."

"We're going to need to split up," Sokka said as he took a seat next to Suki. "To get this done as quickly as possible we're going to need the swampbenders and people to go to the South Pole and Fire Nation."

"That's great but we only have Appa for transportation for you guys," Aang said.

Zuko rubbed his forehead. "We'll all take Appa to the nearest airship base and from there I'll get airships for those who need them."

"So who goes where?" Suki asked.

"I'm with you!" Sokka volunteered.

"Katara and Zuko should stay together and go to the Fire Nation," Toph said.

"Why?" Katara asked snidely.

"A wife follows her husband wherever he goes," Zuko offered. Katara bent the tea out of June's cup and frozen it over Zuko's mouth. His cries of distress were muffled by the ice and he kept pointing to Katara and gesturing for her to undo her bending.

"Melt it," she said sweetly. Zuko glared at her. "Anyway I think I should go to the South Pole to talk to Dad about this."

Sokka shrugged. "Yeah, he's probably can't believe you're married."

"What's that supposed to mean? I know I'm older than Mom was when they got married but really eighteen isn't that old and-"

"Woah, woah, it's not your age it's that you got married away from home. As for going with Zuko-"

"She has to come with me because she's going to need to sign the papers that end our marriage and I'm sure that's going to be easier than whatever we have to do for everyone else," Zuko said after managing to finally melt the tea away. He was rewarded with a wet, stained shirt.

Katara sighed. "Fine I'll go with _my husband_. Who's going to go find the swampbenders?"

"Leave that to me and Aang," Toph said. "Snoozles can deal with your dad."

"Great! That's all settled! How about we meet back here in two weeks?" Everyone nodded. Now that's settled let's get some breakfast and head out!" Sokka suggested.

"We have a fruit basket we'll bring and we're going now. I want to get this over with," Zuko said. Everyone else agreed and they went to gather their things and prepare to leave.

June grabbed Toph's arm as she stood to leave. "I'll have my money in two weeks."

"I'll have mine in a month."

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**Thanks to everyone who reviewed, favorited, and alerted this story or me! I'm not sure about updates...I have one of those very real real person jobs that's going to get a lot more busy very quickly but we'll see. Anyway reviews are awesome.**


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N**: Crappy day yesterday apparently equals new chapter! I would have posted this last night but I couldn't log into the site.

**Disclaimer**: I don't own.

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Zuko watched the main island of the Fire Nation grow larger as the sun set behind it. He was excited to be going home after spending two weeks in the South Pole with his friends. He wasn't sure how people were going to react to this stupid marriage but maybe, just maybe, he'd managed to beat some of the messages that were sent out.

"I can't believe it took us so long to leave," Katara said as she came up beside him.

"It's partially my fault. I forgot to grab the stupid sheets for proof." That and the fact that he'd had to pay way more than he should of to take said sheets and no amount of arguing from either himself or Toph got the price lowered.

"Don't forget to blame Sokka's stomach and wanting to stay for lunch," Katara added.

"I never forget that. We should be there soon. I can have the Fire Sages write up our marriage contract and then our annulment. It shouldn't take more than a few days."

"Why do we need a marriage contract if it's just going away?"

Zuko tried hard not to sigh. "We can't undo something that doesn't exist."

"This could have all gone away if June had never sent the stupid announcements." Zuko nodded as he yawned to make his ears pop as the balloon began it's decent.

They landed smoothly and Zuko, once again, had to go through all the awkward questions that came with bringing Katara with him (he was officially going to find everyone of the birds June used to send these stupid messages and have them all fattened up so they would slow down). Yes, Katara was the woman he married. No he didn't purposely go to the South Pole to get her. He actually got married somewhere else. Yes, he did want a Fire Nation wedding. Of course he should have done this here. NO MORE QUESTIONS, THE FIRE LORD IS DONE ANSWERING THEM (Katara had smirked and teased him that he sounded like he should be on his boat again).

Iroh immediately enveloped him in a hug when he stepped out of the palanquin at the foot of the stairs into the palace. "Nephew I'm so happy you found love," he said brightly as he hugged Zuko tighter.

"Uh, Uncle that's a little premature," Zuko began.

"A newlywed should not be talking like that," Iroh chided as he pulled back to hold Zuko at arms length. "I am a little saddened by the fact that you didn't see fit to invite me."

"Trust me it was a very spontaneous decision."

"Ah, well, I'll just have to comfort myself with the official ceremony here. And Katara," Iroh said as he turned to her. "I'm so happy for you as well." He wrapped his arms around her and Katara looked surprised for a moment before relaxing into the hug. "Now you have to call me Uncle too."

"Sure, Uncle," Katara said as she patted his back. "But Zuko has something he wants to tell you too."

Of course she was going to make him break Iroh's heart...again. By the end of all this Zuko knew Katara was going to owe him big time. Maybe enough to try a second date but that could be stretching it. Not that he wanted to date her. Really.

Iroh apparently noticed the distress Zuko was trying very hard not to show. "Why don't we go inside and have some tea while I warn the kitchens that you two are here. I'm sure Ursa will want to join us too."

Zuko perked up at that. "Mom's here? Since when? Did Ikem and Kiyi come too?" Surely she'd be on his side about this whole thing and maybe could help soften the blow to Iroh. Plus she'd also find a way to make him feel better.

Iroh's smile fell. "Yes, she arrived this afternoon after ordering her own airship to take her here as soon as possible. Unfortunately your step-father and sister could not make it. I now fully understand you and Azula get your, to put it nicely, perseverance from your mother as well."

"He means that Ursa is just as good at shouting orders as you are," Katara said sweetly.

"Thank you very much, _wife_. I'm so glad to have you in my life to clear these things up."

Iroh looked between the two of them. "Tea," he finally said. "Tea will make everything better."

Zuko highly doubted that statement as he followed his uncle into the palace but he let the old man have his slightly off kilter notions. Iroh lead them to a private sitting room in the family wing (one that Zuko rarely used except when there was company). From the brightly polished table and the fresh scent of the room Zuko guessed Iroh had taken a liking to the place. He'd just taken a sip of his tea ("Calming jasmine...we're going to need it.") when his mother burst into the room with all the flare that her (short) acting background could provide. Zuko particularly liked how she made her casual robes flutter in her wake like they were made of much higher quality fabric.

"Katara," Ursa said with a smile and a hug (when his family got to be such big huggers Zuko didn't know). "I'm so glad you decided to join the family. Well, such as it is. Now we need to talk about your wedding here and, well, I'm not sure how you would feel about this but if you'll let me I'd love to help you get ready for the wedding." Zuko knew that hopeful tone. Katara used that tone too. He smirked into his cup and hoped Katara fell for this.

"Well, I mean, Ursa," Katara stuttered. "I think Zuko wants to tell you something but if I need help you're the first person I'm going to go to."

"I'm sure _Zuko_ does have a lot to tell me." Zuko also know that tone. That was the tone that made him feel like he was five and had just been caught setting fire to something on purpose.

"Mom," he began in his best soothing tone. "I know you want to help Katara but, see, we're not going to stay married-"

"Zuko not now," Ursa said as she kept her eyes on Katara.

"But Mom I-"

"Zuko you will hold your tongue and wait to speak until I say so."

"This is the first time I've seen your sister in Ursa. Besides how similar they look," Iroh whispered in Zuko's ear.

Just then a servant came in carrying a tray full of dishes for their dinner. He quickly set the low table and uncovered each dish before bowing a leaving. "Don't you say anything yet, young man," Ursa warned as she ignored protocol and sat and helped herself before Zuko did.

Following Ursa's lead everyone else sat down and began serving themselves. After a few minutes Ursa calmly said "now you may speak."

"What was that all about?" Zuko asked.

Ursa shrugged. "I thought you knew the rule: when you know someone is coming don't say anything you wouldn't want spread around the palace like wildfire and wait ten minutes until after they've left."

"I didn't know that," Zuko said sourly.

"Now you do and you're going to tell me why I was not invited to my only son's wedding and why this was kept a secret from me."

"It's not like I planned this or anything and besides we're going to get it annulled-ow!" As Zuko had spoken Ursa reached across the table and grabbed his good ear between her thumb and forefinger.

"You are going to explain everything and if you're going to get an annulment you're going to at least let me plan the announcement ceremony that has to happen in between now and then or Agni help me I will think of something to do to you that will make your life miserable."

"That's my good ear," Zuko whined.

"I will let go once you promise me this."

Zuko thought about this for a second. His mother might actually annoy Katara enough to make her life miserable. "Of course you can Mom. I know Katara will have a million questions about everything and you're the best person for her to talk to." Katara's glare made the pain in his ear worth it. "I mean, it is her fault that we're married anyway."

"Oh?" Ursa asked as she pulled Zuko's head up by the ear to face her's.

"She's the one that told me to respect to the Foggy Swamp traditions in the first place. That's how we ended up married." Ursa promptly let go of Zuko's ear and rounded on Katara. The smile she gave the Water Tribe woman made Zuko cringe.

"Why don't we start discussing the preparations after dinner? I'm so looking forward to helping you through this." Katara nodded and Zuko could almost bet that she was wishing to be facing Azula rather than Ursa.

"Is there a reason Mom is so upset about this?" Zuko whispered to Iroh.

"You once told me Ursa told you mothers protect their babies." Zuko nodded. "Think of it this way: her eldest baby, whom she loves dearly and fought to save his life and to give him the love he deserved, just had a major life event that she's been planning since, oh I don't know, the day you were born, without her knowledge. She's hurt that you wouldn't think to include her in your life and is, well, lashing out a little."

"That...makes sense," Zuko agreed. "But I didn't want to do this."

"And that plus your story helped save you from not only her wrath but a very stern lecture from me about including your dear, loving uncle in your life."

"Sorry Uncle."

"It's all right, just remember to invite both of us to your real wedding."

Zuko nodded as he took a sip of tea and watched Ursa's face soften as she began to suggest what kind of fabrics Katara's robes should be made out of, what she should serve at their reception, and maybe Ikem could get his acting troupe to put on a special play for them, would Katara like that? Katara turned to Zuko as Ursa kept going and mouthed 'I hate you.'

Zuko thought it was all worth it.

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**A couple of things:**

**I have mixed feelings about The Search but, well, I kind of am keeping it canon here. As for why he's then mentioned as Ikem and not Noren...I forgot Noren until I looked it up and didn't want to go back and change it.**

**I'm not sure what I want to do in the next chapter: have fun Sokka and Suki in the South Pole and Toph and Aang finding swampbenders and Ursa kind of harassing Katara while Katara harasses Zuko or just the last part. We'll see.**

**Thank you for all the alerts, favorites, and reviews!**


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N**: I think I really like writing this.

**Disclaimer**: I don't own.

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Zuko loved his bed. It was big and always had soft clean sheets. He could spread out as much as he wanted (which wasn't much actually) and it was one of the few places he could be himself. His time on his ship and running around the Earth Kingdom gave him a healthy appreciation for such luxuries.

Seeing his bed after dinner and being in the South Pole for two weeks and that awful lumpy bed from last night (and the bruise Katara left from her kicking in her sleep) was a relief. He quickly changed into a clean pair of sleeping pants and promptly flopped down on his bed. He knew he needed to sleep, in the morning he'd have to meet with the Fire Sages to have them not only draw up his marriage contract but also his annulment. Plus Katara was going to have to be there and he wasn't really looking forward to any snide comments from her (even if he usually liked them). He was just about ready to crawl under the covers when his bedroom door banged open.

"Husband there isn't a room ready for me so everyone suggested I sleep in here," Katara shouted as she slammed the door behind her. Zuko rolled over with a groan. "I think I'll take the bed and you take the floor."

Zuko sat up and glared at her. "No, it's big enough we can share." They stared at each other until finally Katara's shoulders slumped in defeat.

"Fine," she agreed. "I'm going to get ready for bed in the bathroom." She turned and started walking to the closet.

"Not the bathroom, other door," Zuko called from the bed.

"Thank you," she whispered as she changed course.

"Aren't you going to change?"

She shook her head. "No I don't really have anything to change into."

"Why?"

She put her hands on her hips. "Because in the South Pole, as you well know, its really cold and the less time we spend without clothes on the better therefore we just take off our parkas and sleep."

He stood up and walked over to his dresser. After rifling through a few shirts he finally pulled one out and handed it to her. "What's this?" She asked.

"Something to sleep in."

"I don't-"

"Please, I think you'll be more comfortable."

"Fine," she grumbled as she stalked off to the bathroom. He lay back down on the bed and tried to get comfortable. A few minutes later she came out dressed in his shirt that went down to just above her knees. She sat on the edge of the bed and turned to look at him. She took a deep breath before saying, "look I think we need to talk."

"Fine."

"No I mean," she sighed, "my mom always said never go to bed angry and she made Sokka and I talk right before kissing us goodnight whenever we had a fight. I never really thought about it until I did go to bed angry and its a horrible feeling. So I'm sorry for all this, I really didn't know what was going on and let's just try to get through this together."

"I'm sorry too." She grinned. "Don't look so smug about that, I've apologized to you so much in my life I'm beginning to think you just like hearing it."

She shrugged. "I do but that's besides the point."

"I knew it. But I am sorry and I do agree with you that we need to get through this together."

"Good because I really want to tell my best friend about this terrible mess I'm in but he's been really mad at me all day."

"But you haven't seen Aang since this morning and Sokka's mad at me, not you."

She leaned over and slapped his leg. "You're my best friend, you idiot."

"You are too. Now sleep and then our meeting with the Fire Sages in the morning."

She cringed. "After that I'm going with Ursa to see if her favorite designer is still here and then we're going to go taste foods."

"Sorry for sicking my mother on you."

"I understand why she's doing it," Katara admitted. "But if you could tell her that I apologized then hopefully things won't be too bad tomorrow." He nodded and patted the bed beside him. She crawl up and got under the covers on the extreme other side of the bed from him. "Good night, Zuko."

"Good night Katara," he mumbled into his pillow.

* * *

Toph hated flying. She especially hated flying on Appa (the new balloons were a little better because they at least had metal floors). She and the bison had come to a mutual understanding years ago that, while they didn't hate each other, they weren't exactly attached to each other either (the pebbles she left in Appa's fur annoyed the bison). This was, however, a small price to pay to try to stall Aang in his quest to find the swampbenders and give Katara and Zuko more time to stop being idiots and realize that they could, actually, stay married and maybe even have little benders tearing up the palace soon. She generally wasn't sentimental but those two needed each other and it would also keep Katara away from her so she could go back to her old habits.

"We've been flying for hours how much longer?" Toph complained.

"Almost there," Aang reassured her.

"Where's 'there'?"

"The big banyan tree in the center of the swamp."

Toph considered her next question. Did she really want to know? Yes, she did. "Why are we going there?"

"I'll tell you when we get there," he said cheerfully.

Toph rolled her sightless eyes and clutched the saddle tighter. Soon they began their descent. As soon as the bison touched down Toph hopped off. Instead of welcoming dirt her feet met wood. "You landed in a tree!" she accused.

"Of course I did," Aang answered like it was the most normal thing in the world. "I need to connect with the swamp and the best way to do that is to feel the energy through this tree. Kind of like your earth sense."

"At least that makes sense."

"You have to open your mind to all possibilities, Sifu Toph."

"I did and now I can metalbend, Twinkletoes."

"Quiet, I need to concentrate." Toph cautiously made her way back to Appa. She plopped down by his feet and waited. Longer than she thought it was take Aang said "I know where they are."

"Finally."

"Back on Appa."

"Oh joy." A short time later they land again and Toph was ecstatic at the feel of wet dirt underneath her feet.

"Aang and Toph, we weren't expecting to see you again so soon," Huu said as he greeted them.

"I'd say the same but you know how these things are," Toph said with a wave of her hand.

"I don't understand," Tho said.

"Don't worry, you'll figure it out sooner or later," Toph reassured the confused man.

"Huu about that whole marriage thing," Aang began carefully.

"It was very kind of them to get married like that," Huu agreed.

"Yeah, see they, uh," Aang stumbled.

"They want to not be married anymore and sent us here to find you guys so they can undo it," Toph said bluntly.

Huu rubbed his chin. "They need to drink from the cup again."

"That's it?" Toph asked.

"Yup, you just fill it on the next full moon, have them drink and it's undone."

"Great!" Aang said happily.

"Yeah, great. Say when is the next full moon?" Toph asked.

"Oh three weeks," Huu replied.

"They have to wait that long?" Aang asked.

"Yes but you can have the cup, no one is currently planning on getting married anytime soon."

"Thank you very much. Let's get the cup and start on our way to the Fire Nation," Aang said.

Toph had to stall and she really didn't want to be back in the air so soon. "But we just got here. Let's at least stay the night," she begged. To help her case, Appa groaned.

"I guess that's fine."

"Good, I'll make us an earthtent." She quickly did that and waited for Aang to wander off somewhere or go meditate or whatever he did before bed that caused him to wander off.

"Huu, my good man," she began. "So this whole getting married thing, all you have to do is drink from the cup and it's done?"

"That's pretty much how it works."

"Excellent," she said as she began to form a plan in her head.

* * *

**As for Toph's plan: I'm debating about what I want to do with it...as in if I want this to go a weird Taang way or not. Thank you for all the follows, favorites, and reviews. You guys rock!**


	5. Chapter 5

**A/N**: So this week at work ate me and was pretty terrible. But I wanted to update before this week, where I have a business trip to Houston of all places for like a day and a half.

**Disclaimer**: I don't own.

* * *

Toph spent a good portion of the night planning. She needed a solid plan (if traveling with Snoozles taught her anything it was how not to plan). Part of her problem was, well, her inability to see. Knowing where she was in the world was easy; knowing where places were in relation to each other was a little harder (especially when flying everywhere). But she'd never let her lack of sight interfere with anything she wanted to do before so she wasn't going to start now.

It was actually Twinkletoes' whole "communing with the swamp" thing that helped her. She could feel the earth, why not see how far out she could feel? She sent tremors out and waited. After what felt like forever she felt the familiar caves and could almost see the badgermoles. It wasn't that far, if she were to judge. Plus Aang couldn't really say no if she wanted to visit her parents.

Now how to stall there. She picked up the cup she'd pocketed earlier. It felt simple enough, just clay with some swirls carved into it. She could make a better one if she wanted to.

She sat up. She _could_ make a better one. Or even make this one look slightly different with a nice coating of dirt. And if this whole marriage thing happened because two people drank out of _this specific cup_, no matter how it looked, well then she could distract Aang that way. In the morning she'd tell Aang she wanted to make a stop on the way.

Zuko and Katara better thank her, she thought. She was going to willingly see her parents for them.

And get married but that was besides the point.

* * *

"Sokkums wake up," Suki cooed as she gently shook her boyfriend. He continued to snore. "Come on, we're almost at the South Pole." Sokka stayed firmly asleep. "You leave me no choice, sweetheart," she told him as she firmly kicked him out of bed.

He let out a shriek of surprise as he hit the floor. "What was that for?" He asked as he rubbed his head.

"I tried to be nice and you wouldn't wake up. We should have breakfast before we land."

Sokka popped up. "Why didn't you say it was for food?" Suki sighed as she rubbed her forehead. "Come, get out of bed so we can get food!"

"Sometimes I forget why I love you," she said softly as she swung her feet over the side of the bed.

He pecked her cheek. "Because you know there's more to me than food."

"Yeah, yeah, come on big guy, let's go."

They dressed quickly and made their way to the tiny mess hall for breakfast. The airship was much better equipped than either really expected but they were glad to almost be there. Well Suki was, Sokka also liked prowling the engine room and tinkering with things whenever they let him. After breakfast Suki watched him do just that before they were both kicked out so the engineers could prepare for landing.

"I wonder if my dad knows," Sokka said thoughtfully as they stepped out of the airship on to the ice of the South Pole.

Hakoda was waiting for them. He kept looking over them. "I think he does," Suki said.

"Hi Dad!" Sokka called as he waved. Hakoda clasped his son's arm once they were close and gave Suki a welcoming hug.

"Where's your sister?" Hakoda asked, still peering into the airship.

"In the Fire Nation, as kind of the Fire Lady," Sokka said with his usual tact. Suki almost smacked her forehead in frustration.

"I honestly thought the letter was a joke," Hakoda admitted. "Just tell me what happened."

"We we were taking the swampbenders back and we got caught in a storm. Appa wouldn't fly anymore so we landed and stayed the night at a kind of seedy tavern that was also an inn. The swampbenders filled a cup with water and said it was special. Katara drank from that and then shoved it in Zuko's face and told him to be nice and not all Fire Nation and evil and respect their customs and drink. The swampbenders congratulated them and that's apparently how they got married," Sokka said. Hakoda looked at Suki who nodded.

"Well, uh, that's good. I just didn't know that Katara even liked Zuko," Hakoda said. Suki could tell he was trying to stay calm.

"Katara didn't know that's what would happen," Suki reassured him.

"Yeah and now she and Zuko are in the Fire Nation trying to get unmarried there, Aang and Toph are off finding the swampbenders so they can find out how Katara can get unmarried according to them, and we're here to tell you we think Zuko would be a terrible provider for Katara and that he couldn't even kill a tigerseal if it bit him," Sokka said proudly.

Hakoda rubbed his forehead. "While I appreciate that unfortunately Zuko's going to have to come here and demonstrate that. Plus they have to wait a month anyway."

"But, but, when Pinka wanted to get rid of Nuvuk she just had her brother say that to you! I remember because you told me to leave and I listened at the door till Mom found me and made me go play with Katara! Then Nuvuk went to the Northern Water Tribe and Pinka married Siluk a few years later."

"Sokka there's a lot about that you don't understand and we'll talk about it later but that's not the case with Katara and Zuko," he paused, "at least I hope not or I will kill the Fire Lord." Suki fully understood what Hakoda wasn't saying and quickly put a hand over Sokka's mouth before he could ask another question. "Anyway Katara needs to wait a month to prove she's not pregnant."

Sokka's mouth opened and closed like a fish. "She's not...they didn't...SUKI WE NEED TO GO TO THE FIRE NATION RIGHT NOW!" He grabbed Suki's arm and began dragging her back to the airship.

"Sokka, stop!" She said as she planted her feet in the snow. She held his arm as he lost his balance when he tried to drag her with him. "First of all Katara knows what she needs to do to get out of this. Second Zuko also knows you would kill him if he tried anything Katara didn't want to do. Finally you once told me that those clouds," she pointed to the dark clouds moving quickly towards them, "mean take cover there's a storm coming."

"Monkeyfeathers!"

* * *

Zuko was having that stupid dream again. The one where he'd wake up in bed with someone and he pulled her closer and that lead to, well, to other activities. This time, however, it felt so real and he'd never had the girl smell like jasmine flowers before. He hummed happily as he pulled the dream girl closer.

And sneezed when her hair tickled his nose. Fully awake he sat up. Apparently Katara smelled like jasmine...oh, right he bought her lotion for her birthday after Uncle suggested it. "Cold," she mumbled in her sleep and she pulled the blankets closer around herself and tried to scoot back into his warmth. Warmth he really didn't want to share with her because then he'd have to explain that no, that part of his body that was very much awake did that in the mornings (sometimes) and that it had nothing to do with her (maybe sometimes it did have to do with her but now was not a good time to tell her that).

He quickly retreated to the bathroom. Someone had been in there since they'd gone to bed: Katara's clothes had been neatly folded on the counter next to the sink. After a quick bath he wrapped a towel around his waist and felt ready to face the day. He shuffled across the bedroom to the closet, dropping the towel before he entered. He changed and was fixing his cuffs when he came out to a very awake Katara sitting up in bed.

"Good morning," he called as picked up his brush to try to tame his hair into a topknot.

"Do you always do that?" She asked.

"Do what? Wake up early?"

"Go into your closet naked." He dropped the brush and felt his cheeks light on fire.

"What did you see?" He asked as he turned around.

"That your lightning scar has faded a little and, well, your entire backside."

"I thought you were asleep," he replied lamely.

Katara smiled slightly. "If it makes anything better it looked really nice." Before Zuko could react beyond swearing his cheeks were actually on fire Katara scurried into the bathroom.

"This is going to be a long day," he told his reflection.

* * *

**Next chapter will have more Zutara. I've also kind of figured out where this is going. It's just getting there and trying to keep it light that's going to be a challenge. Also finishing it.**


	6. Chapter 6

**A/N**: Sorry for the delay! I had a business trip to Houston plus insane over time. But everything has settled as my supervisor is back and therefore I'm back to doing only one job! Yay!

**Disclaimer**: I don't own.

* * *

Katara covered her face with her hands and sank into the tub. She shouldn't be embarrassed. She'd seen Zuko without a shirt before, as soon as they'd settled into the beach house before the end of the war he'd taken to just not wearing a shirt. Plus she'd healed him and that had been a lot of her seeing Zuko without a shirt.

His backside, however, was entirely different. _And very nice_, a sly voice admitted in her head. She groaned under water before sitting up. "Get a hold of yourself. It's perfectly natural for you to see your husband basically naked," she reasoned out loud. "Even if you didn't actually mean to get married," she muttered.

She sat up a little straighter and looked for the soap to wash her hair. Just as she had a good lather going the door burst open and Ursa glided in, carrying an arm full of clothes. Katara could clearly see Zuko staring at her. _Great now he's seen my chest_, she thought as Ursa kicked the door shut and began shaking out clothes.

"Now," she began, "I found a few old trunks of mine. Apparently no one bothered to throw them out thankfully. I also went through Azula's closet and picked out a few different items-"

Katara sank down as her mother-in-law spoke. "Uh, why do I need clothes?" She asked as she covered her breasts with one arm and bent water to wash her hair with the other.

"You're meeting with the Fire Sages today," Ursa said simply. "You can lower your arm, I've already seen those and have a set of my own, they're nothing new."

Katara quickly dunked her head and hoped Ursa didn't see her blush. Once she surfaced she said "thank you but I have clothes."

Ursa gave Katara a look she'd seen mirrored on Zuko's when he was dealing with one of Aang's more cheerful ideas. "Yes, you do have clothes but you will be addressing them as the Fire Lady. The Fire Lady does not speak to the Fire Sages in clothes that are, while admittedly nice, in need of a wash."

"And blue," Katara muttered.

Ursa huffed. "Color doesn't matter. Unless you're mourning then you wear white."

"If I were to get appropriate clothes in blue," Katara trailed off.

"No one could say anything against you without risking the wrath of the Fire Lord. You will be representing him at times; anything said to you will be like talking to the Fire Lord."

"Huh," Katara said. "I think I kind of like that."

"Of course, now get out and pick out something. I hope we can find something that fits." Ursa held a towel up for Katara. Katara quickly wrapped the towel around herself and bent the water out of her hair. "This was one of my old dresses." Ursa held up a slightly complicated looking robe. "I wore it right after I was married, before I was even pregnant with Zuko."

"About Zuko," Katara began. She knew she needed to apologize, if only to hopefully not have to endure hours of planning talks with wistful sighs about real weddings. "I apologized for accidentally getting us married. We talked about it last night and everything should be fine."

Ursa smiled. "Good. Just promise me I can plan everything else for you two as a consolation."

"Everything else?" What else would she need? It's not like-

"Oh when you announce your pregnancies, baby showers, maybe even a birthday or two. Little things like that. Now I'm not sure why Azula had this dress, maybe someone told her she needed a formal dress at some point and she didn't set them or the fabric on fire but here it is. What do you think?"

Katara just stared at the dress. Her brain stopped working at "pregnancies."

* * *

Zuko squirmed as the five head Sages looked (glared) at him and Katara. Ever since he was a kid and had fallen asleep during their long Summer Solstice benedictions he'd felt like they hated him. He'd done a few other things too but he knew they hated him for the sleeping.

"Fire Lord Zuko," the head Sage drawled in such a way that made Zuko feel like 'Fire Lord' meant 'naughty child.' Zuko gulped but kept his head high. "It has come to our attention that you've married this woman," he gestured to Katara, "but are seeking an annulment."

"Yes," Zuko answered. Later he'd explain to Katara what that meant.

"Forgive me, Fire Lord, but maybe your lovely bride needs our traditions explained to her."

Zuko tried really hard to roll his eyes. "I know we didn't get married in an official ceremony but I can honestly say we haven't consummated the marriage. I just need the marriage contract drawn up and the annulment. We can sign both today and be done with it."

The Sage smirked. "We can, of course, have that done. However, since your marriage was unofficially announced and Dowager Ursa has come to us to plan your official one let me remind you that you cannot get an annulment until three months after your wedding is announced."

"Is this some stupid way of making sure I'm not pregnant?" Katara asked tersely.

The Sage rounded on her, his fake smile straining at his lips. "Not at all, Fire Lady. Before we trained dragon hawks to be messengers it took a boat three months to reach the outermost islands. As such every announcement is given a three month time frame before it can be undone."

"That's ridiculous," Katara said.

"So is living on a block of ice," the Sage countered.

Zuko put his hand on Katara's shoulder to keep her seated. "Watch your tone, Your Eminence," Zuko said in a deathly calm voice. "You're speaking to both the Fire Lord and Lady."

Zuko really liked how the man's face paled. "My apologies, Your Majesty. I'll make sure we have both documents ready for you to sign by the afternoon."

"We'll be back then," he said as he stood. He held his hand out for Katara, who gracefully rose and held her head high as she turned to walk out of the room.

Once safely far away from the Fire Sages Zuko let his shoulders slump and sighed loudly. "Sorry about that," he said.

Katara shrugged. "I've heard worse from you."

"Right."

"You sounded a little scary in there," she admitted.

"I might have been trying my best to sound like Ozai for a little." He watched her open her mouth to reply. "Before you say anything I found that tactic really works with some people. That and showing them my scar. Apparently I'm intimidating then."

"Clearly they've never seen you cuddling the turtleducks."

"One time and you're never going to let me live that down, are you?" She shook her head. They kept walking as Zuko glanced down at Katara. He hadn't really had time to look at her. He took in the golden flame in her hair, liking the way it contrasted with the dark brown of her hair. Her dress, however, almost made him laugh. It looked too big and he could tell it was hastily hemmed. "Where did you get that?" He finally asked.

"The hairpiece or the mockery of a dress?"

He decided to be honest. "Both. I don't remember requesting that the hair piece be brought out of storage."

"Ursa did. The dress is hers too. Or was hers." He raised an eyebrow. Katara sighed. "Apparently I couldn't meet with the Fire Sages in my clothes so Ursa brought me new ones. Some were Azula's and some were hers. Even though I really didn't want to I tried Azula's and, well, they were tight."

"But you're no bigger than she is," Zuko reasoned.

"Everywhere but my chest." Zuko coughed. He'd seen her bare chest this morning and had promised himself that he would never forget the site. "What, no comment? Have I stunned the illustrious Fire Lord into silence?" She teased. "Come on, I know you saw this morning."

"I, uh, yes I did and I'm sor-"

"You showed me yours last night without meaning to and this morning I showed you mine. Fairs fair."

"You've been hanging around with Toph too much."

"Maybe I have. Anyway I need to change out of this monstrosity I hemmed this morning and back into something that actually fits before Ursa drags me shopping."

"I thought you two were better now."

Katara sighed. "We are but I still need clothes and she's still excited to have a daughter-in-law."

"Let me know if she gets carried away, I'll talk to her." Katara raised an eyebrow. "What? It's not like I'm scared of her."

Katara just laughed.

* * *

**Thank you to everyone who favorited, alerted, and reviewed! All of that is awesome!**

Next chapter will have more with other characters. I also really like writing Ursa this way.

Also bare in mind that this is the most regular I've updated anything, ever. So I'm kind of proud of myself right now.


	7. Chapter 7

**A/N**: Well this took a little longer if only because I kept sleeping this week instead of writing.

**Disclaimer**: I don't own.

* * *

There were a few secrets Katara kept hidden deep down. Not that she was ashamed of them, more that they were her's to keep and didn't really feel like sharing. Her biggest one? She hated shopping. Almost to the point of loathing it but not quite. She hadn't always known this: the South Pole didn't have shops but when she had to start shopping for things like food and thread she quickly became annoyed and started hating the whole process. It didn't help that Sokka loved it.

Now that Ursa had dragged her out shopping and kept talking about the rest of her life, Katara had to bite the inside of her cheek to keep from yelling at the kind woman.

"Don't you think this is lovely?" Ursa asked holding up a deep red robe. "I think the color would look amazing on you."

"Uh, sure. Don't you think this is a bit much?"

Ursa shook her head. "Not at all dear. You're going to need a full wardrobe."

"It just seems a little much for only having to be here for three months."

Ursa lowered the robe she was hold up to Katara. "No you're not," she said calmly.

Katara put her hands on her hips. "Yes I am, you know as well as I do that Zuko and I are getting an annulment and then I'm going to go home."

Ursa rolled her eyes. "Oh Katara that's not going to happen."

"Yes it is!" Katara said as she stomped her foot. "And there's nothing you can do to stop us!"

"You and Zuko can say that all you want but in three months when it comes time to sign that piece of paper neither of you is going to want to do that and then I can plan your big wedding."

Katara stared at her current mother-in-law and tried to think of a good comeback. "I, you, well, no that's not going to happen," she finished sternly.

Ursa brushed a stray hair out of Katara's face. "I've watched you two dance around each other for the past two years. You make each other happy."

"But we were seeing other people and I'm sure Zuko has mentioned the one time-"

"Of course he has but you know that he's a huge idiot sometimes. So you can keep thinking that you're going to be gone in three months and I'll keep planning and we'll see who's right," she said with a smile. "Now let's see, you're going to need some more undergarments as well as some sleepwear. Doesn't this silk look lovely?"

Katara glared at the (admittedly nice and not Zuko's shirt) sleep attire. This whole thing just reminded her how much she hated shopping.

* * *

Katara wasn't back when the Fire Sages presented Zuko with the marriage contract. He was absolutely glad of this fact too. "You cannot call her Katara of the Frozen Southern Water Tribe!"

"Why not, My Lord?" The Head Sage asked.

"Because you refer to me as the 'Illustrious and Honorable Fire Lord Zuko, son of former Fire Lord Ozai and Princess Ursa' and you couldn't even have been bothered to ask who Katara's parents are?" He shouted.

"I didn't think she would notice."

"You're going to rewrite this and she's going to be Master Waterbender Katara of the Southern Water Tribe, daughter of _Chief_ Hakoda and Kya, now passed," he said in a deathly calm voice.

"Should I add princess to her title like the Northern Water Tribe?"

Zuko grit his teeth. "I don't think she'd appreciate that...and take out the part of how she's marrying into the most advanced Nation and how she's going to be saved from the cold, semi-inhabitable block of ice she grew up on."

"As you wish, Your Highness," The Head Sage said with a bow, his tone dripping with false sincerity.

After he left Zuko mumbled, "One of these days I'm going to have to figure out how to get a whole new batch of Fire Sages."

* * *

As her feet hit the familiar ground of her parent's house Toph suppressed a shudder. She was back and, while this was slightly voluntary, she wasn't thrilled.

"Miss Toph," one of the gardeners began, "and Avatar Aang. You're parents aren't expecting you."

"Yeah, I know but here Twinkletoes and I are. We were passing through and figured we should visit."

"I'm sure your parents will be thrilled," he told her.

"Thrilled isn't exactly the word I'd use but it's close enough."

She felt Aang scurry to catch up with her. "What did you mean by that?"

"Oh, well, I haven't really spoken to my parents in awhile so this will be a kind of surprise."

"You should really try writing to them," Aang replied.

"I'll get right on that after learning how to read," she said snidely.

"Right, sorry."

Toph pushed open the front doors to her house and shouted "I'm here" as loud as she could. She felt her father's strong footsteps quickly followed by her mother's light prancing.

"Toph, baby," Poppy Beifong said as she enveloped Toph in a hug. "I'm so happy to see you."

"Me too," she said (and for once didn't make a comment about her mother's choice of words).

"Avatar Aang, good to see you again too," Lao Beifong said.

"Thanks you too. Sorry to barge in like this."

"No trouble no trouble," Lao reassured the slightly blushing Avatar.

"We're kind of tired so can we catch up at dinner?" Toph asked. This was the truth, at least in her case as she'd spent the night plotting rather than sleeping.

"Of course, I'll have the butler show you to your rooms," Poppy said as she finally let her daughter go.

"Er, Mom, I haven't been home in over a year, isn't my room kind of dirty?"

"Not at all, I keep it ready just in case you come home," Poppy said. Toph didn't know how to respond her her mother's words.

* * *

Dinner was how Toph remembered it. There were requests for people to blow on her food until she screamed she could do it herself. Somethings apparently never changed. Even if you did invent metalbending and helped take down an entire fleet of airships with super charged firebenders bent on burning down everything in sight.

But Toph had already put her plan into motion. She'd made a decoy cup last night. The real one was safely hidden in her bag in her room while the fake one was currently in front her her with tea in it. She waited and listened. Soon her father had Aang talking about all the different trade trends he could think of (which was a lot of Aang trying to figure out what that was). She quickly took an exaggerated sip, so much so that her mother noticed with a huff. Toph then carefully put the cup on the table and used her bending to switch her's and Aang's cup.

Then it happened. Aang drank from the cup and as if on cue Poppy exclaimed "you took a sip from Toph's cup!"

Aang looked down at the offending piece of chin and spit out the remaining liquid in his mouth. "Toph why were you using this cup?!"

She played dumb. "What's so special about it?"

"It's the Foggy Swamp marriage cup!"

"Monkeyfeathers! I just asked for it to be cleaned!" Which was true, but she also knew that she had said she was fond of the item so that it would be placed in front of her for dinner.

"Toph what does the Avatar mean by 'marriage cup?'" Her ever proper father asked.

"Well, see, if you drink from the cup and then a boy does after you you're married according to the traditions of the Foggy Swamp. We got it because our friends accidentally did it and now that we know how to correct it we just have to wait for the full moon to drink out of it to be unmarried."

"Do you have to?" Her mother blurted out as her father said "what friends?"

Toph let her mother's comment slide and replied "Zuko and Katara."

"The Fire Lord? Toph you never mentioned you were also friends with the Fire Lord," her father chided. She could almost hear the thoughts in his head.

"That's not really important Dad but yes-"

"You two should stay awhile," Poppy chimed in. "I'm sure we can catch up and maybe you can rethink this whole marriage thing."

"Really Mrs. Beifong, we should probably get going and let our friends know about this, not to mention do it ourselves," Aang pleaded.

"Nonsense," Lao said. "You two should stay for at least a few days. To think my daughter is now married to the Avatar and friends with the Fire Lord."

The sound of Aang's head hitting the table made Toph smile.

* * *

"Your mother is crazy!" Katara accused when Zuko finally stumbled into his bedroom. It took a moment for his brain to process 'Katara in his room' and then, once remembering the night before accepting it, processing 'Katara in his room in a rather short dress thing that was red' with the conclusion that he really, really liked her in that.

"Sorry what?" He asked.

"She thinks we're not going to get an annulment thing because she thinks neither of us is going to want to sign it in three months and that we're secretly in love or something and it all makes about as much sense as trying to make snow stop falling!" She paced as she ranted and Zuko definitely noticed how the garment rode up a little as she walked.

"Yes, entirely crazy," he mumbled as he took out his topknot and shock his hair out.

She stopped pacing and glared at him. "Don't tell me you are secretly in love with them," she accused.

He rolled his eyes. "That's just stupid."

She nodded. "Of course. And I'm not secretly in love with you, by the way."

"Good then it won't be hard for either of us to sign the paper in three months."

"Not at all."

"I'm glad we agree. I'm going to go change and then tell you about the first draft of our marriage contract."

"Was the word ice used?"

"No, but close."

"Maybe we can let them pretend we want to stay married, just for a little."

Zuko sighed. "That would just fuel my mother's and uncle's suspicions."

"You're no fun."

* * *

**A big thank you to everyone who's favorited, alerted and reviewed this story!**

Also **Samantha** who keeps reviewing everything: THANK YOU SO MUCH!


	8. Chapter 8

**A/N**: I'm...not sure how I feel about this chapter. I know how I want this whole thing to end but, well, part of my problem with longer fics is getting to that point. Yeah.

Also sorry this is kind of late, I was sick for about a week and still working cause there's no one really to cover when one person is out in my office and my coworker was already going on vacation. It was super fun.

**Disclaimer**: I don't own.

* * *

Sokka looked out the window and cursed the snow. Usually he didn't mind the snow, he'd grown up in it, learned how to use it to build shelter, played in it. Not right now.

"Why did the storms have to come early?" He complained to no one in particular. Suki, who had been listening to his grievances for the past hour rubbed his back again.

"It isn't that bad," she said, trying to cheer him up.

"We're stuck here for at least a week. Then we have to make sure the balloon will still fly because its currently frozen. Then a few days to get to the Fire Nation then we have to wait until Zuko can come down here and purposely fail tests. Its going to take forever."

Suki mentally calculated that out to maybe two months, if Zuko could leave so soon after coming back. Apparently that was forever but she wasn't going to argue with Sokka right now. "I'm sure we'll figure something out. Maybe your dad could come with us to the Fire Nation, you know, as Chief and Katara's father pronounce him incompetent," she offered.

Sokka's face lit up. "That's a great idea!" He kissed her firmly on the cheek and she smiled. Sometimes she just had to state the almost obvious with him.

* * *

Ursa and Iroh were having a late night cup of tea in Iroh's personal sitting room. It was currently past their usual bedtimes but, well, when you are conspiring sleep had to be sacrificed (they'd also both agreed that, as members of the royal family, they were allowed to sleep in sometimes). They'd come to an agreement when Ursa had stormed into Iroh's sitting room when she first arrived demanding to know why in Agni's name she was hearing about her son's wedding by letter. Iroh had explained he'd known as much as her but at least thought it was a good match. Ursa shared his sentiments and they'd decided to give the children a stern talking to (yell at) about the proper ways to inform one's relatives about impending nuptials. After they'd learned of the events behind said wonderful news their plan morphed into 'how to keep the idiot children together so they could get grandchildren.'

"How long do you think it will take Katara to realize she can order the Fire Lady's suite cleaned out sooner than you have planned?" Iroh asked as he sipped his tea (white tea with rose petals and a hint of lychee).

"About a week. She's smart and has it in her to lead but she keeps getting overwhelmed by certain aspects of her new title," Ursa replied.

"You mean when you tease her about her life with Zuko."

Ursa shrugged. "It keeps her distracted and hopefully puts ideas in her head."

"And when do you think Zuko will tell her?"

Ursa chuckled. "He's, well, you know him. He's intelligent about some things and completely oblivious about others. He's probably much more worried about Katara sleeping in his bed than what he could be doing to help her."

Iroh set down his cup and stroked his beard. "There was a time where I would have given anything to have him interested in a girl."

"Thank you for all you did for him," Ursa said sincerely.

"You've thanked me enough, now let's figure out how to make these two realize they're perfect for each other."

"Hmmm, hint to Zuko how nice it is to have Katara here?" Ursa offered.

"You can do that much more subtly than I can."

"Really? I seem to remember you being very good at that."

"With most people yes. Zuko, on the other hand, has come to ignore my attempts but does listen to everything you say."

She sighed. "I'll make him have lunch with me and bring it up. You're going to have to think of something to entice Katara with."

"We can talk about how she's getting along with her mother-in-law," Iroh joked.

Ursa narrowed her eyes. "I'm sure she'll only have wonderful things to say about me."

"She's probably terrified of you." Ursa smiled into her tea.

* * *

"Now Toph," Poppy Bei Fong began as she followed her daughter into her room. "I know you've been gone for awhile but, well, I don't know how to begin."

"Spit it out Mom," Toph said as she quickly began removing her clothes to get ready for bed.

"Language Toph," she chided. "What I'm trying to say is, well, now that you're married there are certain aspects of life that you may not-"

"Woah, woah, woah," Toph turned to her mother while holding up her hands. "I already got this talk from Katara while I was traveling with her. She told me all about my changing body and boys. There's nothing really more you can say."

"You see, Toph-"

"No I don't," she quipped.

Poppy cleared her throat. "There are acts between a man and a woman that can be very pleasurable-"

"Mom please don't-"

"You are going to sit down and listen," Poppy told her daughter. "I want you to know what marriage fully entails."

Toph sat down on her bed and tried to not listen to her mother describe, in detail so she wouldn't be surprised by feel alone, what exactly sex was. While trying not to listen she debated the merits of telling her mother she was not, in fact, married.

Instead she opted for the misery loves company option. "Mom you know Aang was raised by monks over a hundred years ago and only received a basic talk from Katara. Maybe you should talk to him too."

* * *

Katara jerked awake as pain shot through her leg. Feeling slightly disoriented in the still unfamiliar room it took her a second to remember where she was and to realize who kicked her. She turned, ready to yell at Zuko, when she saw his face contorted in pain and sweat on his brow. Instead of kicking him like she wanted to she gently shook him. "Wake up Zuko," she said, "it's just a bad dream."

Their heads almost collided as he sat up with a start. "Zuko, you're all right, just a nightmare," she said again as he panted. She watched him slowly bring his left hand to his scar and close his eyes.

"Right, bad dream," he murmured before lying back down and turning away from her.

She did kick him then. "Hey, you know the best way to get rid of a bad dream is to talk about it."

He rolled over to look at her. "Who says that?"

"My gran-gran. You remember her, the one you grabbed when you first came to the South Pole."

"Talking isn't going to work," he grumbled.

"How do you know? Besides you're supposed to be able to talk to your wife about anything."

He scoffed. "Who told you that?"

"My dad." She watched Zuko open his mouth to respond before quickly closing it. "Talking could make you feel better," she said in a sing song voice.

He scowled (which didn't look to bad with about a quarter of his face hidden by the pillow). "Fine I was dreaming about how I got my scar. Happy?"

"Do you dream about that often?" She asked softly.

He looked away from her. "Not as much as I used to," he admitted.

"Any other nightmares?"

"Why?"

She shrugged. "So I can be prepared when you wake up from one."

She assumed he wouldn't answer until he spoke. "Sometimes I dream about not getting in front of Azula's lightning or of Uncle's face when I joined her. Sometimes it's dragons fighting over me." Then so softly she almost couldn't hear he admitted "and once there was a giant turtleduck eating me."

"Well there's nothing I can do about that one," she teased, "but the others, well we both know Iroh's proud of you and I'm here." She sank down next to him and gently wrapped her arm around him. "When you feel like talking about it I'll listen."

"Thank you," he said as she moved a little closer. "For now it's nice having you here."

She tried to ignore how that made her feel.

* * *

**And slight fluff at the end. Reviews are awesome.**


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